interior door hang w/o jamb?

This is more of a construction question than woodworking question, but it involves wood and i’m a lumberjock, so I’m posting here….

Has anyone ever hung a door without a three sided jamb? I have a finished closet (drywall, edge bead, etc) that needs a door put on it. It is in a cramped corner with a low ceiling, and unfortunately, there is no room at the top or opening side to put any trim casings. There is room however to put trim on the hinge side. Can I use just one vertical jamb member? After cutting a little drywall, the hinge side jamb could be glued and screwed into the wall/studs, but not sure if this is secure enough to keep it from tipping without a cross jamb member at the top (the door i have is a hand me down, and is 1 3/4 thick and fairly heavy).

Thanks all!

1 reply so far

OK, I’m going to give this a shot and hope it is helpful – at least in spurring your thinking. Each side of the doorway should be a double 2×4 (face on) with a double 2×4 header (edge on) across the top. Putting in a doorframe is just to have a finished wood appearance. If a ¾” or 1” thick doorframe attached to the 2×4s holds the door then there is no reason attaching the door directly to the 2×4 will not hold.

Given this, I see no reason why you cannot attach the hinge side to the 2/4 on one side. On the other side, drill your bolt/striker hole in the 2×4, put in your striker plate and attach a small baton to act as a jam for the door to close against.

As I said, I hope this helps to at least spur your thinking.

-- Life is what happens to you while you are planning better things -Mark Twain